June College Recruiting Newsletter 2025

Welcome to the Kings Hammer June College Recruiting Newsletter! The club is excited to work with you to accomplish all of your player’s goals for this upcoming soccer year, on and off of the soccer field. Each month, we will be providing this resource to help you navigate the craziness that is the college recruiting process. We hope you find value in this newsletter and we are excited to assist in this exciting process for your family!

This month’s College Recruiting Newsletter will dive into the recruiting steps players should be taking over the summer break and how they can develop a successful mentality!

Your Summer Recruiting Action Plan

While the start of summer this past month brings an end to most club soccer activities, there are still things that can be worked on to enhance your college recruiting efforts prior to the kickoff of the high school season. Here are some suggestions for things that players should complete in the upcoming month.

Update SportsRecruits Profile – perhaps you have changed teams, have a new coach, or got new test scores. Take some time to be sure your profile is correct.
Add or Update Videos – create a new highlight reel, add links to full games, or even do a candid intro video
Review the Recruiting Guidelines – read up on the rules and regulations for the various levels of play. Here are some articles or sites to explore.
Watch A SportsRecruits Webinar – Here are some helpful Webinars on the SportsRecruits platform for July. Click on the images below to register to attend a session!

A Message From SportsRecruits

Our friends at SportsRecruits have asked reached out to the club to provide some clarity regarding the recently announced NCAA Changes. Read their message below:

“Hello Kings Hammer players and families,

The NCAA just approved major changes that could impact recruiting, scholarships, and roster opportunities at Division I schools.
Here are two short articles that explain what’s changing:

NCAA Settlement Overview

Roster Limits Explained

Also: you can watch the recent webinar hosted by SportsRecruits to learn more about the recent decision.

Breaking Down the NCAA House Settlement Approval

Now more than ever, keep an open mind, do your research, and cast a wide net when building your target list of schools.

Please feel free to reach out to help@sportsrecruits.com if you need any help with your SportsRecruits account. Our team is ready to help!”
SportsRecruits on NCAA Recruiting Changes

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT – Forming a Successful Mentality

There is no question that, when recruiting college coaches are absolutely looking for successes, from your team and from you. However, those same coaches also know that mistakes and failure are apart of every player, every team, and every season. How athletes respond to moments of adversity is a critical part of each player’s development, and what ultimately makes them a recruit that may stand out.

Adversity and hardship will happen to every athlete (and it probably has already happened to you) every season, during training sessions and games. Turning the ball over, missing a wide-open net, fumbling an easy save, getting subbed out of a game, or even not starting a game, these are just a few of thousands of scenarios that could happen in a game. What is most important is not that a mistake or failure happened, but how you respond to these moments and how you use them to help you improve in the future.

Here is a clip from a college commencement speech given by tennis great Roger Federer. In it he talks about success and failure and the ability to look forward and move ahead, in tennis and in life.

The question to ask yourself in these moments is “what is my immediate response?”

If it is to blame others, hang your head, mentally check out from the game, or have a negative attitude, you may want to keep reading. Below are a few questions athletes can ask themselves prior to games and in moments of adversity to help them develop mental toughness and resiliency.

What do I have direct control over during a game? Attitude, effort, attentiveness, and engagement are all things you can control whether you are the best or the worst player on the field. If you want to play at a high level, controlling and holding yourself to a high standard in these regards is a great place to start.
How do I respond to constructive criticism? Is my first instinct to blame others, take the information negatively, or am I receiving it as feedback to help me improve? There is a clear difference!
What does my body language look like immediately after I make a mistake? Do I stop running, hang my head, and pout? Or do I have a short memory, maintain confidence, and keep playing as hard as I can?

Developing a good mindset, a strong mentality, can improve your ability to maintain focus, deal with adversity, and maximize your athletic potential. Here are a few steps every athlete can take to become mentally stronger.

Establish a Growth Mindset – believe you have the power to improve.
Set Constructive Goals – base your goals for training and games on Process (actions, decisions, tactics, techniques, etc.) and Performance, not on Outcomes (wins, losses, goals, saves,etc.)
Use Positive Self-Talk – “I Can”, “I AM”, “I Will” not “I Can’t”, “I’m Not”, “I Won’t”
Practice Visualization – mental rehearsal of specific actions, moments, or processes the night before, or even directly prior to events is proven to increase successful performance.
Be Persistent – recognize that challenges and failures are a part of the process. No athlete has climbed to the top without a few stumbles.

Here are some additional video resources on this topic that can further help you.

Geno Auriemma on the character of player he recruits

Sport Psychology – Inside the mind of champion athletes: Martin Hagger at TEDxPerth

Marcus Rashford – Advice for Young Players

Recent College Commitments

Congratulations to the most recent Kings Hammer soccer players to make college commitment decisions! Remember to post your commitment to your Sports Recruits account, send a commitment photo to info@kingshammer.com, and include or tag your club’s local Kings Hammer page on any social media posts so that we can be recognize you for your achievements!